Chapter 92 — Daisy's Room
The Sydney morning filtered softly through the tall curtains of Care's mansion, golden light reflecting off the polished floors and walls. Outside, the harbor shimmered in quiet tranquility, but inside, tension quietly bubbled beneath the surface.
Daisy's door remained closed. Her absence from breakfast, the hallway, the living room, was almost conspicuous, though the group initially tried to ignore it.
Inside the room, Daisy sat slouched on the edge of her bed. The room was immaculate, untouched, every detail perfect—yet it felt cold, lifeless. In her hands, she held a paper from Trinity Hospital—a missed research deadline—and it slipped, fluttering to the floor unnoticed. Her eyes were red-rimmed, tears still wet along her cheeks.
For seven months, she had held herself together like a flawless mask. A brilliant surgeon. A rising star in research. Joong's attentive partner. A smiling, perfect presence in every public or social setting.
But now, alone, the mask shattered. Her mind replayed the months: the missed hospital rounds, the abandoned surgeries she had promised herself she would oversee, the emails she never answered, the missed opportunities, and the creeping isolation while Joong's business trips kept him away. The pressure of perfection had finally cracked her.
She hugged her knees, rocking slightly, whispering to herself:
"I'm fine… I'm fine…"
The words felt hollow even to her ears.
Her body trembled. The room, silent to anyone else, seemed to amplify every heartbeat, every inhale, every sob.
Outside the room, the group was starting to notice.
Care stood at the bottom of the staircase, arms folded, brow furrowed. "She hasn't come down yet," she said quietly, voice edged with concern.
Cole, leaning against the doorway of the living hall, was silent but alert. His calm exterior did nothing to hide the tight line of his jaw and the tension in his shoulders. His mind raced through worst-case scenarios.
Nova exchanged a glance with Ben. "She's never missed a single day," Ben murmured. "Something's wrong."
Ash, standing beside Lyra near the window, broke the silence. Her voice was quiet but firm. "She's always hidden everything… but something's broken. We can't just wait."
Lyra frowned. "Daisy never lets anyone in. Not even Joong sometimes. She's strong… but even the strongest people have a breaking point."
Kiefer and JJ, in the hallway behind Care and Cole, were teasing each other lightly about the chaos of the reunion. JJ elbowed Kiefer, whispering, "You think they notice the subtle tension between those two?"
Kiefer smirked. "Cole? Care? Always serious. But… distracted today. I notice." He leaned closer, a playful glint in his eye. "Maybe the quiet genius surgeon has problems to solve, hmm?"
Cole, across the hall, stiffened. His mind was nowhere near teasing; every instinct screamed Daisy. Care noticed and tensed, her own gaze flicking toward the room Daisy hadn't emerged from.
Meanwhile, Percy was sitting on a sofa, Honey laughing beside him. He had tried to distract himself from the tension with playful antics—teasing Honey for stealing dessert—but even his energy felt muted compared to normal. Honey's hand rested on her growing belly, a gentle five-month bump, her eyes scanning the room for reassurance.
Cin and Rakhi were whispering near the terrace, Rakhi occasionally laughing at a misstep of Aries, Ella's husband, but even their playfulness was muted by the general tension. Ella herself had noticed Cole's distracted glances and Care's furrowed brows; her sharp mind immediately deduced that something was wrong with Daisy.
Freya and Endrix were the last to arrive, pushing through the front hallway with their usual banter and teasing. Endrix nudged Freya, "Notice anyone acting strange?"
Freya squinted, eyes narrowing at Cole and Care, and then at the door across the hall. "Daisy," she said, realization dawning. "She hasn't been downstairs. Today… she hasn't joined anyone."
Back inside Daisy's room, the emotional weight of months of isolation finally pressed down. She pressed her face into the pillow, sobs wracking her body. Her hands shook, and she couldn't remember the last time she had truly eaten or focused. Her mind swirled with a thousand worries: unfinished surgeries, Joong's absence, the impossibility of maintaining appearances.
She felt like she was falling into an endless void, and every day she had forced herself to smile for the world had added another brick to a wall she could no longer hold up.
Outside, the mansion's halls were alive with whispers and quiet tension. The group had not yet entered the room, but their uneasy awareness of Daisy's absence hung like a heavy shadow. Every glance, every subtle exchange, acknowledged it: something was wrong.
Care and Cole shared one such glance across the hall. No words needed—they both knew the truth: Daisy was silently drowning, and they would need to reach her carefully, on her terms.
Ash leaned lightly on Lyra, whispering, "We can't ignore this. She needs us… and she doesn't even know it yet."
The group stood, almost frozen in place, the chaos of reunion contrasting sharply with the quiet gravity that Daisy's absence had brought.
For now, the door remained closed. Daisy's struggle was hers alone, hidden behind a flawless facade. And yet, the group knew—the first step toward addressing the fracture in their friend's world had begun.